SHANKSVILLE, PA — Today, during a business meeting in Shanksville, PA, at the Flight 93 National Memorial, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, led by Chairman Rick Crawford (AR-01), released a bipartisan Committee report examining the implementation of the 9/11 Commission Report recommendations 25 years following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
This report is part of the Committee’s year-long bipartisan review, announced by Chairman Crawford and Ranking Member Jim Himes (D-CT) last year and co- chaired by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), which examined the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations and whether the Intelligence Community is equipped to counter the threats the United States will face over the next 25 years.
As outlined in the report, the Committee observed that:
- The 9/11 Commission resulted in a revolutionized counterterrorism capability, breaking down stovepipes to enable the interagency—including the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) and others—to work with state and local officials to protect Americans.
- Unfortunately, for nearly 20 years, we had an understandable myopia on counterterrorism, and the threat environment has evolved. Our state-level adversaries didn’t disappear; we just haven’t focused on them.
- As a result, the counterterrorism lessons learned have not translated to other intelligence areas, such as counterintelligence, and there is still more work to be done to fully realize the lessons learned from September 11th, 2001.
Key Recommendations Based on the Committee’s Review:
- Establish Mission-Centered and Task Force-based Intelligence Integration as an IC-Wide Standard
- Professionalize Open-Source Intelligence Collection and Analysis
- Fully Implement Biometric Entry-Exit System
- Build Interoperable Information-Sharing Systems Across the IC
- Measure Success by Mission Outcomes, Not Agency Ownership
- Develop and Expand Joint Training and Career Incentives Across the IC
- Formally Establish Counterintelligence as a Career
- Review Current Classification Processes
- Strengthen Partnerships with State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Law Enforcement Agencies and Fusion Centers
- Increase IC Collaboration with the Private Sector
- Address “Black Swan” Risks Posed by AI Advancement
- Reexamine Idea of National Intelligence Reserve Corps
- Deepen IC Lessons Learned Program
- Require all Members of Congress, Senators, and Congressional Staff who Hold Clearances to Take Classified Material and Counterintelligence Training
- Deepen Relationships Between IC Authorizers and Appropriators
- Reauthorize FISA 702 and Extend the Periods of Reauthorization
- Create a Statutory Definition for Counterintelligence
- Ensure the National Counterterrorism Center Remains the Lead Integrator for Counterterrorism Throughout the IC
- Support IC Elements Sharing Counterintelligence Information with the National Counterintelligence and Security Center
- Expand Capability to Leverage Emerging Technology
Background:
- Over the past year, the Committee conducted a comprehensive review of the 9/11 Commission Report and the status of its implementation to assess the progress our nation has made in strengthening its national security posture and to examine how the threat landscape has evolved over the past twenty-five years.
- To inform this review, the Committee has held numerous classified and unclassified briefings, as well as two public hearings with expert witnesses and a public roundtable with families of the unexpected heroes of Flight 93.
- The overriding principles of the Committee’s recommendations are that the modern threat environment requires whole government cooperation, strong congressional oversight, and a well-equipped Intelligence Community that is both effective and accountable.
Read the full report here.
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